To Pinion a Raven
by TheOnionCat
Summary: Cristal and Raven have always been rivals, but even longer best friends. When Raven's competitive attitude to be the best becomes relentless and aggressive, Cristal must find a way to stop Raven's ruthless behavior — before Raven destroys herself.
1. Chapter 1

"Flare, use Heat Wave!" called out a teenage girl.

The Charizard she commanded crouched slightly. His hind feet dug into the grass and dirt as his arms spread wide. Flare's head dipped as his snout curled into a snarl and a low growl began rumbling from his belly. The meadow they were fighting in seemed to fill with a hot, crimson haze.

"No," gasped the girl's opponent softly. "Dig," he desperately told his Nincada, in hopes the Nincada would manage to dodge the damaging Fire type move.

Her opponent was a young boy in shorts with an overconfident personality. He'd had the audacity to challenge her to a battle in the middle of a hiking trail. They'd decided to battle in the open meadow, where there was more room to maneuver.

The Nincada cried out as its legs began tearing at the soil, but it was knocked backwards before it barely dug a dent.

"Nincada," cried out the boy. "You can do it! Get up!"

The Nincada weakly crawled forward a step before finally collapsing on the ground.

"Really, it's cruel to pit a Nincada against my Charizard! Good match though," the girl called out.

"Yep, good match," the youngster replied. He took out a Pokéball and clicked the front button, absorbing the Bug Pokémon back in. "Rest, Nincada," he told the Pokéball. "You did good."

The teenage girl went up and affectionately patted her Charizard's shoulder before going up to the boy to shake hands.

"My name is Cristal," she told the boy.

"Cool. My name is Albert."

"Maybe when I pass through this route again, we can have a rematch."

"Okay! I'll have more than a Nincada the next time we fight!"

Cristal laughed and waved good-bye as she and Charizard continued on the trail through Pinwheel Forest. They'd actually had to backtrack out of the forest to find this meadow in which to battle, so now she had to walk through a lot of the forest once again. Her traveling companion, Raven, was waiting on the Castelia side of Skyarrow Bridge. Raven had gotten rather nervous with the thought of Bug Pokémon and wanted to get out of Pinwheel Forest as soon as possible. When the youngster had challenged Cristal, they'd agreed to split up and Raven would meet Cristal at the entrance of Castelia. The two best friends wanted to experience Castelia together.

When Cristal got to the Pinwheel Forest entry gate for the Skyarrow Bridge, she withdrew Charizard and entered the polished building.

"Hello, miss," greeted a young man at a small counter.

"Hi, gatekeeper," Cristal smiled, approaching him. "Do you have a map to Castelia City? I have a map of the major roads of Unova, but not a Castelia-specific one."

"Why yes I do, miss. Here's one." The gatekeeper reached underneath the counter and got out a glossy, folded tourist map.

After Cristal thanked him, she went out on the bridge and began jogging across on the footpath above the roads for cars. The scenery was beautiful, as the cool blue waters below twinkled and shone brilliantly. The wind picked up as she travelled over the water on the high altitude bridge. She paused her jogging to tie back her dark brown hair that shone bronze in the late noon sun. As she fiddled with her hair, Cristal leaned on the railing of the footpath and watched the cars below her. When she was ready once again, Cristal patted her satchel where her Pokéballs were kept to make sure they were all present before jogging.

"Cristal!" called Raven as Cristal neared the end of the bridge.

"Hey Raven! Sorry to keep you waiting!"

"No problem. Did the pipsqueak give you any cash?"

"Raven," Cristal chastised, "don't call that little boy a pipsqueak. And no, I didn't take his money."

"Aw." Raven pouted. As she did so, her sapphire blue streak of hair fell into her eyes.

Cristal playfully punched Raven on the shoulder. "Did you get your Castelia map yet?"

"Yep," Raven said, pulling another folded map from her back jeans pocket.

"Let's find a hotel," Cristal said, but Raven shook her head.

"I'm hungry," Raven whined. "I heard Castelia has this amazing cone dessert thing. I wanna try it."

"Okay, okay. I'm hungry too. Let's go into the city now."

The two friends went through the entry building and gasped. Skyscrapers loomed above their heads to their right. On their left, ships floated lazily on the water as golden sparkles from the sun graced the water's surface. It seemed even a cruise ship was docked, letting tourists in and out to explore the many promotions almost all the shops would no doubt have. Obnoxiously bright, flashing signs distracted the two friends from the sight of the pretty water on their left, so they wandered to their right and immersed themselves with the city.

"Excuse me!" snapped a businessman as he pushed past Cristal. He rushed on, rattling angrily into his cell phone. In his right hand was a strict black briefcase.

"What a rude person," muttered Raven.

"Hey, at least he said _something_," Cristal said, as more strangers brushed past the two friends. "This _is_ a pretty busy city after all. Let's get moving and try to find a restaurant."

After a while, in a smaller and less busy street, Cristal and Raven managed to find a cozy café and settled down at a table. It was dimly lit, and the street they'd found the café in was more like an alleyway than a street. Faint music drifted from a man playing a guitar gently.

"I heard there's a gym in this city," Raven told Cristal once they had their food. Cristal had her tourist map spread out on the table so they could study the roads of the city.

"Yeah, are you going to challenge the gym?" asked Cristal.

"Well, this info box here says it's an, 'eccentric' gym. The gym leader's name is Burgh. It also says here this gym is Bug-type based." Raven stopped reading the map to take a sip from her Berry soup.

Cristal reached for a poffin, a kind of bread from Sinnoh that was flavored with Berries. When Cristal and Raven had been in the Sinnoh region, they'd found a small shop that let them make these treats by themselves for their own Pokémon. "Well," Cristal said, taking a bite of the Pecha berry poffin, "I think I'll challenge the gym. I have Flare, so it can't be too hard." Cristal swallowed the pink bread. "But I want Flare to rest, so if you're going to challenge the gym, you should go first, Raven."

"Sure," Raven said. She grinned. "I bet I'll beat Burgh faster than you will!"

"Pshaw," Cristal laughed. "My Pokémon can beat your Pokémon at anything, any day!"

"I'd like to see them try," Raven sneered. "Remember last summer when we were in Sinnoh? My Pokémon beat yours at the contests, hands down!"

"We've gotten better," Cristal said defensively. She paused for a moment, frowning. "I guess I never _did_ have your superior fashion sense."

Raven smiled as she finished her soup. "If you combine 'Raven' with 'superior', do you get Rhyperior?"

"Yeah right," Cristal said, and brushed some crumbs off her shirt.

"Then that means Rhyperior would exist solely because of me!"

"Don't be so full of yourself. If that were true —"

"Then, for every minute I was awesome, a new Rhyperior would come to be…" Raven got a dreamy look in her eyes as she daydreamed.

"If that were true, no Rhyperior would exist at all."

Raven stuck her tongue out at her best friend and traveling mate as she took her wallet out. After they put down a tip and collected their belongings, Raven and Cristal wandered about the city. It was now nighttime, but the duo wanted to find a place to stay so they could wake up early in the morning. They checked their map and plotted a course to a hotel that appeared to have good ratings with a fairly decent rate on the price. Still, the night was a little young, so the two made sure their route passed by some shops. Raven bought a set of Staryu shaped hairclips to keep her blue hair and black hair out of her eyes. Cristal bought some cute Combee and Vespiquen stationary at another store.

By the time the two reached the hotel, it was midnight. Luckily, the hotel still had rooms available, and they quickly got settled in. It wasn't like they had tons of luggage anyway.

"Today was pretty awesome," Raven yawned as they both got into their separate beds.

"Yeah. Good luck tomorrow," Cristal yawned back.

"You too," Raven whispered.

Both girls fell asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows.


	2. Chapter 2

"Wake up sleepy head!"

Raven batted at Cristal, who was looming over her. "What time is it," demanded Raven grumpily.

"Does it matter?" sang Cristal. She yanked open the hotel curtains, and looked over her shoulder to Raven.

Raven groaned, and opened her reddish brown-colored eyes. "Why are you up so early, Mrs. Sunshine?" she asked grumpily. Raven sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes. She blew away strands of hair away from her face.

"I got us breakfast!" said Cristal cheerily. She held out a tray containing waffles.

Raven looked on the nightstand next to her and picked up the cup of orange juice sitting there. "This is for me, right?" she asked before taking a sip.

"Yeah, I got the coffee," Cristal said excitedly.

"So that's why you're so..." Raven began. "So Miss Cheery Princess," she finished, flourishing her fork at Cristal. She sipped her orange juice again and began digging into her waffles.

Cristal took her glasses off and rubbed at the lenses. After frowning, she turned to Raven. "I'm going to go put in my contacts today. I don't want to miss seeing your battle!"

As Cristal put her contacts into her dark, chocolate brown eyes, Raven finished her breakfast and got dressed. They both grabbed their bags and Pokéballs and left their hotel room. They stepped out into the sunny sidewalk and strolled to the Pokémon Center to heal their Pokémon.

* * *

><p>"Hello, girls," greeted the nurse at the counter. "Shall I take your Pokémon?"<p>

"Yes, please," Cristal smiled, and began clipping off Pokéballs from her belt, placing them gently on the counter one at a time.

Raven grabbed her fistful of Pokéballs and placed them on the counter. The nurse accepted the Pokéballs somewhat cautiously, as though afraid Raven would begin smashing furniture or yelling and causing a scene. Although Raven put them on the counter with care to the Pokémon inside, her grumpy mood was painfully apparent. Raven turned to Cristal. "I hate mornings."

They waited awkwardly for the nurse to finish healing their Pokémon. After the nurse gave their Pokémon back, the two thanked her and went on their way.

"So you're battling first?"

"I guess," Raven sighed. "I'm nervous."

"What's there to be nervous about? Come on," Cristal nudged Raven, "trust your Pokémon."

Raven smiled faintly and nodded. "Okay, Cristal."

* * *

><p>Raven and Cristal arrived at the gym and stepped inside. "Hello, girls!" screamed a clown in their face. They both jumped.<p>

"Back off, ya crazy loony!" snapped Raven.

"Hey, hey, don't take offense," giggled the clown. He skipped around them and put his arms on their shoulders. He was wearing a jester's hat and outfit. Vertical stripes ran up and down his costume in yellow and red. Despite the clown's attitude, the stripes were neat and orderly.

"Hello, Mr. Harlequin," Cristal smiled warmly.

"Wrong, missy," the clown snarled. He took a leap away, doing splits in the air as he went.

Cristal was taken aback by his bipolar and mercurial nature. "Th-then, what's your name?" she stammered.

"The name's Stan," he sang, and gestured with his arm. "Come, into the gym now, young dears!"

"Some gym this is," Raven muttered. "The first person we see is a crazy person."

"Calm down, Raven. Have some fun!"

Raven smiled wistfully and they both followed the clown, who danced and hopped comically, chattering away to the two of them. He seemed to have an endless amount of jokes and jests streaming from his mouth nonstop. They were traveling down a small hallway.

"How did the chicken cross the road?" asked Stan as he danced.

"It's why, not how," Raven corrected, but Stan continued on.

"To get to the other side!"

"That doesn't make sense, Mr. Stan," Raven called out.

Stan stopped in his tracks and jumped, turning around. "Your face doesn't make sense," he snapped menacingly before laughing manically.

Raven muttered curses under her breath as Stan turned around and continued.

Stan continued babbling, and from then on, Raven didn't try to correct him. Soon, they arrived in a large Pokémon stadium. The floor was made of worn dirt. Broken blades of grass lay strewn about. Trees rooted deep in the ground dotted the field, but even more torn up trees were scattered around.

"Hey, Stan," the gym leader greeted.

Stan skipped up to the gym leader, Burgh, and did a pirouette. "Hello, Burgh." Stan did a low bow. "Stan, at your service. I brought these little girls for you." Stan cackled.

"Um, Stan, remember what I told you about freaking our challengers out? Tone it down a bit, huh?"

"Of course, Burgh," Stan said, and straightened up.

"So, these are the challengers?" Burgh asked him, and peering at the two girls waiting at the doorway somewhat shyly.

"Well," Stan stuttered, "I didn't really ask. Them. I didn't ask them."

"Of course, Stan." Burgh threw his arms into the air. "Stan, next time ask people if they're even here to battle before you drag them through the hall telling your awful jokes and freaking them out." Burgh shook his head and approached Cristal and Raven. "I'm sorry, for you two having to suffer from Stan. He can be…" Burgh paused, searching for the right word. He gave up. "Just really Stan-like," Burgh nodded.

"It's okay," Cristal said quickly, interrupting Raven before she could say otherwise. "We really were here to battle."

"Alright then. Who wants to go first?"

"I am," Raven said, raising her hand a bit.

* * *

><p>Cristal was led up to the audience section as Raven and Burgh prepared for the battle.<p>

"Ready to go down, Burgh?" Raven called out to him.

Burgh laughed. "We'll see who's going down!"

Burgh sent out Whirlipede. "Do your best," he told it.

Raven sent out a Tropius. "Go Jasmine!" Raven cheered.

"Whirlipede, go poison it!"

"Get in the air, Jasmine!"

The Tropius flapped its enormous leafy wings and launched into the air with speed and agility unmatched by even most bird Pokémon.

"So it flies," Burgh laughed. "You can do it, Whirlipede," he coaxed

Whirlipede cried out and began rolling about the stadium, dodging the magical leaves Jasmine shot at the Bug Pokémon. Occasionally, the Whirlipede smashed through a tree, slowing it down. It was then that Jasmine would swoop down to attack at close range.

Cristal clutched at her seat and leaned forward in anticipation. Stan cackled beside her, breaking her rapture in the battle before her.

"Quite the birdy," Stan giggled. "Although that birdie is made of leafies!"

"Haven't you ever seen a Tropius?" Cristal asked. Even _she_ was having difficulty not being offended by Stan's offish behavior.

"Oh, no," Stan said, settling down for once. He sat down next to Cristal on the bench and took his harlequin hat off, placing it gently beside him. "Aren't Tropius Pokémon native to Hoenn?"

Cristal nodded. "I heard they can be found here in Unova too, right?"

Stan shrugged, his eyes locked on the battling unfolding before him. Jasmine the Tropius had sustained damage, but was healing itself via photosynthesis. Burgh was encouraging his Whirlipede, but to no avail. Jasmine had defeated the Whirlipede. Brugh sent out a Leavanny, and Raven switched out Jasmine for Flambeaux, a Torkoal.

"What's that small turtle? I can barely see it," Stan commented.

"It's a Torkoal," Cristal explained. Despite Stan's now calm aura, it felt unsettling because his character kept changing, and she didn't know when he would become crazy again.

"Flambeaux, you can do it! First, make it sunny!"

"Leavanny, strike first!"

Leavanny tried attacking with leaves, but they all burned to crisp before they could even touch the small turtle. Leavanny then tried to strike at close range, but shied away when the turtle unleashed a surprisingly and frighteningly large fire. Soon, Flambeaux was burning brighter, and the sunlight filtering into the stadium began to feel scorching.

"Heat wave!" shouted Raven, and the turtle began emitting a small aura of fire that soon grew to encompass an enormous sphere with Torkoal at the center.

"What is it doing?" Stan asked Cristal, confused.

"You'll see," Cristal said, captivated by the scene.

Leavanny was futilely leaping about, trying to find an area to safely hide from the scorching red that threatened the place. Some nearby stumps burst into flame.

"Leavanny!" shouted Burgh, as the heat caught up with his Pokémon, and it cried out. The fire aura soon stopped—Flambeaux was out of energy.

"Good job, Flambeaux!" Raven praised. She ran up to the tame little turtle and picked it up, cuddling it close to her as Burgh tended to Leavanny's burn.

"So, Stan," Cristal began, but stopped, unknowing how to continue.

"Yeah?" Stan turned to Cristal. "Oh, by the way, I never got your names."

"I'm Cristal, and my friend battling Burgh is Raven."

"Nice to meet you two," he laughed nervously. Stan began picking at a loose thread on his hat. "Sorry I was being really crazy when I first met you guys at the entrance."

"No problem," Cristal said politely.

"No, really, it was really off," he laughed. "I know you're just being polite. Everyone's always polite." There was a shift in tone as he finished, and when Cristal looked over at Stan, there was a crazy scowl on his face.

"Stan?" she asked nervously.

"What?" he snapped at her. He grabbed his hat and yanked it back onto his head. Stan's fawn brown hair peaked out, abused, from under his hat, and he snickered as Flambeaux and Burgh's Dwebble fought it out in the battlefield. Both were slow Pokémon, but that just made the battle more tense.

Cristal shrank back and turned back to the battle.

* * *

><p>On the battlefield, it seemed that the Dwebble and Torkoal were on even ground. Raven bit her lip, trying to decide what to do. Finally, she withdrew Torkoal.<p>

"Go, Embelm!" Raven cheered, and sent out a Wartortle.

"She's got a thing for turtles, doesn't she?" Stan cackled. "Does she eat them?"

Cristal gasped and gawked at Stan in pure shock at the horrific statement.

"What are you looking at, girly?" Stan snarled at Cristal.

"Embelm, put up a fight! Let's do this!"

The Wartortle braced itself, and slowly lowered itself, seeming to take aim.

"Dwebble, I don't know what it's up to, but I'll solemnly swear it's up to no good! Get ready for anything!"

Embelm and Dwebble stared each other down, when suddenly, Embelm charged. It was so unexpected that it caught Dwebble completely off guard despite the Burgh's warnings.

"Dwebble!" Burgh shouted, as the Pokémon went flying. The Dwebble smashed through a tree, snapping the trunk cleanly in half.

Embelm happily chirped at its victory, and tottered over to Raven, who lovingly stroked and petted her loyal Pokémon.

"Looks like Burgh lost," Stan grumbled, and he stood up. Suddenly, he was turning cartwheels off the bleachers and through the doorway at the side, to go down to the field to talk with his boss.

Cristal also got up, slightly shaken by Stan, and went out to greet Raven.

"Who's a good Wartortle? Embelm is! Yes you are!"

"Hey Raven," laughed Cristal as she approached the Trainer cuddling with her Pokémon. Torkoal and Jasmine were also released from their Pokéballs, but they were communicating together by themselves off to the side. Since they'd both been raised by Raven since Egg and they'd both hatched at the same time, the two had grown so close, they seemed like sisters, despite their being different species.

"So how'd I do?" asked Raven. She turned and peered at Stan. "And how was sitting next to him?"

"It was weird," Cristal said, addressing the Stan question. "And you battled great!"

"Let's go to a Pokémon Center," Raven said. "I want to heal my Pokémon. They're the best in the world," gushed Raven.

Cristal smiled to herself and allowed Raven to lead the way. It was so rare to see Raven in such a good mood.

"Cristal! Raven!" called Stan's voice behind them. They stopped.

"How does he know our names?" Raven asked Cristal.

"I told him," she said.

"Whew, I caught up to you guys," Stan wheezed, as he gasped for air. "Sorry," he laughed. "Burgh usually gives the Gym Badge in person, but there's another challenger, so he has to get ready." Stan held out a small box to Raven as he bowed slightly.

"Thanks," Raven said carefully. She hesitatingly accepted the box.

"I'll see you two later," Stan grinned, and he waved to them as they turned to leave.

As Cristal and Raven walked to the Pokémon Center, Raven turned to Cristal. "Isn't Stan so weird?" she asked.

"Well, sometimes he actually acts normal," said Cristal. "So I don't know what to think."

Raven shrugged.

* * *

><p>They healed Raven's Pokémon, and the two decided to take the rest of the day off, wandering through the city, this time trying to find the famous Casteliacone. They were fortunate enough to get one each, but only after pushing through the crowded store. The two best friends headed to the small park area in the back of the city to enjoy their cones with their Pokémon together.<p> 


End file.
